Fate Grows on You
by LikeMulderandScully
Summary: No longer a one shot, but a series of Caskett-y one shots! Kate and Castle are fated. It's obvious. She just has to get used to it.
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing. Sad day.

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It was a seemingly innocuous phrase, used when he was being more 'Castle' than usual. He used it to qualify his kooky Christopher Walken impression, but when she remembered the phrase now it had another meaning altogether.

"It'll grow on you".

It ended up being more than just the impression that grew on her; He had grown on her. His personality, his odd, sometimes childish behavior, and especially his heart, cheerfulness and compassion; they had all grown on her. Her life the past few months no longer included his wackiness, and she had found that she didn't enjoy the long stretches of alone time nearly as much as she had before. At the beginning he was just another handsome rich and famous guy; entitled, most likely a total ass. She had loved his books though, and had known there had to be something more behind the public figure that was "the author Richard Castle". Something about how and what he wrote had appealed to her on a level she, even now, didn't completely understand. She glanced over at his books on the shelf and thought of the time he had become more than just a cardboard cutout to her.

----------C-a-s-k-e-t-t------------

It was meant to be an off-putting statement, used when he was getting to close to the truth about her past. She wanted him to know that she wasn't an open book, and that he'd have to earn the right to know her, she wasn't going to be an easy read.

"Don't think you know me."

That statement was ironically what now defined her to him. He had thought her interesting from the start, but that had changed. Unbeknownst to his conscious self, within a few weeks it had turned into an obsession of sorts. He wanted to know everything about her, what made her tick, what made her laugh, where she came from and what she loved. Without her around these past few months, his obsession is starving, and he couldn't enjoy the rave pre-reviews for Heat Wave as much as he wanted to. He had realized somewhere along the line that Kate was one of those rare people who couldn't be fully comprehended or characterized, she was so many things, but also the opposite. He leaned back in his plush leather office chair and looked at his consultant badge thinking over what he remembered about his absent muse.

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Possibly more than a one-shot if I get some awesome reviews!

What do you think of Beckett's new hairstyle from the promo? Like, hate?


	2. Flowers for her Grave

I've decided to turn this into a series of one shots-- basically anything that comes to mind, but they will probably all be episode based for now.

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Kate Beckett had been followed. Followed, through the busy police station, back to her desk by her new partner, someone she had written off only 24 hours earlier as someone she would never see again. Twice she had said goodbye to him, ostensibly forever, and yet he just kept showing up. Life after meeting Castle certainly had its surprises. Too many surprises; how could meeting one person change the whole trajectory of your professional life? She couldn't even envision the future that included this crazy man-child. Her usually clear head was rapidly getting cloudier. The fog grew thicker and angrier, but something, some small voice in her head, the voice of her younger, non-wounded self, was whispering to her.

"but Kate, this going to be so much fun!"

He had pulled up a chair next to her desk and sat down, not really talking, just observing the police station atmosphere. He finally spoke, asking her, in an uncharacteristically gentle way, how she was feeling about the new situation. Kate answered him through the deepening fog in her brain the only way she knew how at that moment. Honestly.

"I really don't know Castle."

He seemed satisfied with her answer and struck up a conversation with Ryan, who had just walked by to congratulate him and rag on her.

She watched him chat and had then begun to process the last week of her now 'AC-After Castle' life. How did she really feel about this? She decided to start with the very, very basic pros and cons.

Admission #1: Ok. He's not bad to look at.

She knew what he looked like before they had met, of course, from the back cover of his books: handsome-- but then she also knew he was married at the time. She had gone to a signing once, but was now glad that it had been in a huge crowd so he would have almost no chance of remembering her. If he had recognized her it would have been lethal to their future partnership. His books were phenomenal, and he was cute, so it wasn't a huge leap to wonder what kind of a guy he was. She had, at turns, imagined him as a creatively arrogant, entitled ass; or a scholarly, intelligent ass; but nothing had prepared her for his real persona: the good-hearted, annoyingly-carefree smart-ass.

Fact #2: He is attracted to me.

He had called her smart and attractive within a day of meeting her. His invitation yesterday sealed that fact in her mind… Wait, his invitation! She blushed a shade of embarrassing crimson. Foolish! Oh God, she was stupid. She could have just walked away like a normal person, but no, she had to go and play temptress. It was a once in a lifetime chance: to cash in on the fact that a guy you were a huge fan of was actually attracted to you, and she really had thought she'd never see him again. Who wouldn't take advantage? 'Still stupid, Kate.'

Admission #3: I am attracted to him.

To Kate Beckett one thing was certain; however charmingly annoying he was, existing in her way 24/7, probing into her work like it belonged to him; she was attracted to him. Then again, she had a thing for passion, which he, and his recently deceased main character, possessed in spades.

The worst thing was; after her whispering-lip-biting-strutting-away-like-a-seductress routine; he knew just how attracted to him she was. He now definitively knew that behind her teasing, grumbling and threatening lay a reservoir of deep-seated attraction. Attraction stemming not only from her past love of his books, but also from her new understanding of his good heart, passionately eager nature, and carefree demeanor. And sweet. She had not expected him to be sweet. She had forgotten to breathe when he kissed her on the cheek. Boys didn't kiss her on the cheek. Ever.

Fact #4: He is annoying and obtrusive.

He is everywhere, all the time, disobeying and being a child. Which throws the whole attraction thing right out. His conclusions vacillate from insightful to ridiculous, which is amusing, but not always helpful. For now, wanting to punch him every five minutes would keep this crazy fan-girl crush to a bare minimum.

She had come to no conclusion to her actual feelings about this situation. She figured time would tell, but there was one thing she knew for sure. As he had stood there in her boss' doorway, grinning like the cat that caught the canary, she suddenly realized her secret fantastic world of crime-drama novels had been irrevocably shattered. She saw herself placing flowers at the gravestone of one 'Katie Beckett -Fangirl- R.I.P'. What she couldn't predict though, was what would eventually take the place of that world, the part of herself she had hid from all but her closest acquaintance. And was it really dead? Or was she just in shock? She knew one thing for sure, and couldn't decide if it was good or bad. Her life was never going to be the same.

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Richard Castle would follow her to the ends of the earth. He had just decided; after being magically cured from his persistent writer's block before having known this woman for 72 hours. The words tumbled out of his consciousness faster than he could type them, and he was no slouch at typing.

Kate Beckett was going to be a huge hit. If his readers liked her half as much as he did, Castle was going to have his bestselling novel ever.

He leaned back in his chair and thought about the first interview, had it really been less than a week ago?

She had had her professional mask on, and rather skillfully avoided his every advance, until he had gotten under her skin a bit with the 'deranged fan' comment. He hadn't known then, and hadn't expected to see her again, so he flirted, flattered and was generally over-the-top.

He had decided to follow the case at that point. Not her, not yet. He was there to get the plot for his next novel, and got so much more.

Castle realized her potential while they were looking through his fan mail. He was more and more interested in her every time he lowered the paper to sneak a peek. He rose to the challenge when she tested him, and true to form, was absolutely correct about her general back story. Things like personal histories just came natural to him, they always had, just like the fiction he had turned into his career, and though look of deep pain on her face when he hit the last sentence did not surprise him, it did upset and intrigue him at the same time. That was rare. Nothing touched him, the crime-novel golden boy-- but her, she was different. Just what he was looking for. Now all he had to do was sit back and enjoy.


	3. One and Done

She was annoyed. At least she thought she was. She couldn't really tell because her head was still spinning-- as of late the world of Detective Katherine Beckett had been turned completely upside down. Her reality, her life, had become fiction and her fantasy had strangely become a reality-- all in the space of a week. Her last refuge had been destroyed; the secret fanciful life where she imagined herself fighting crime alongside the handsome and witty Derek Storm was gone-- laid siege to by it's very creator: his arrogantly charming, but no less handsome author.

She hated guys like Rick Castle on principle right? But somehow, he was different. The same privileged, all-knowing, smart-ass rich boy, but there was something else: something unusual: his 'innocent' sweetness, ironic sense of humor, and earnest willingness of a golden retriever. These qualities set him apart from 'those guys'. Those guys she grew up around and vowed she would never fall for, never marry. He was one of those guys right? She couldn't decide if he was or she just wanted him to be. If he was writing him off would be much more uncomplicated. If he wasn't though, boy was she in trouble.

Kate had seethed in his general direction as he signed his life away two days ago. She felt that he had signed hers away as well. If someone were to have asked her why she would have said she was furious about the whole situation, but she wasn't. Not really. She just wants her old life back. The Derek Storm life; where reality and fiction were separated by a chasm of logic. In this new Richard Castle world reality and fiction were somehow one and the same. Castle made up crazy stories about crimes, and strangely they made perfect sense to her. She had been utterly mesmerized by his spontaneously spun yarn about "the man from 8B". Stranger still, his wacky theories actually helped solve the case. He caught different things than she did, like the whole elevator thing. There were even moments when they shared a semblance of rapport: when the verbal sparring was almost fun, or when they leap-frogged to a conclusion finishing each other's thoughts. There were moments when she almost liked him. He could almost be a good partner, if she wasn't so angry about his obtrusion into her life. Almost.

Kate knew he could be sweet too, though whenever he says something sweet he always has to go and ruin it by being dirty, like when he made that comment about lonely single moms on Manhattan playgrounds. He made a good father, but apparently a bad husband. She laughed remembering once fantasizing being married to someone like Derek Storm: solving impossible cases together, loving and trusting each other like no one else could. Soul mates, yeah, something like that. Her eyes rolled at the thought. Ridiculous. But she had seen empathy from him in the elevator when he had asked if she was really the one who had to call Sarah's parents in Georgia. Castle's life must be pretty much rainbows and sunshine, so to find out that, on a regular basis, his blessed inspiration Kate Beckett had to inform loved ones of a relative's demise, was apparently quite eye-opening for him. She was glad in way to be teaching him something, but the Chief still had to order her to call him to visit Lainey for the M.E. report.

She hoped that he would either leave, sooner rather than later, or that they would eventually hit their stride and become real partners. She saw a vague potential, but it was all too fresh, the annoyance and anger blocked her rational judgment for now.

* * *

Rick Castle had never met such a difficult woman; it fascinated him. She was seemingly immune to his charms; by all outward appearance she acted like she absolutely loathed him, but she couldn't. She was a fan of his books and she had made it pretty clear during their first case that she didn't find him repulsive. He had entranced her just two days ago with his story about the "Man from 8B". He had seen the look.

Maybe she was just mad that he was following her around. She would get used to him, at least he hoped she would. She kept everything so close, hardly sharing a thing with him. He had to pry to figure out anything about her. He now knew she had had a broken heart- that she had made clear as they carted off both perps at the end of the nanny case. He had learned something else during this case; that Beckett really believed in marriage, like the forever kind. She was obviously very loyal, and appeared to have some traditional values. When she had confronted Ian Harris about cheating on his wife, Castle had seen real anger in Kate's voice. She truly hated cheaters; maybe that was another reason why she didn't want to like him, because he pulled strings, which could be considered cheating.

But there was that thing between them, that old black magic, a chemistry, and a tension. They worked so well together, in a natural 'made-for-each-other' way. He wished she would stop fighting it so he could see the real her. The strong, witty, dreamer he saw in her eyes. That was the character he wanted to write about, not the stiff and grumpy detective persona she seemed to be putting on since his call to the mayor. They could be a great team, solving impossible cases and leaning on each other, oh what a great plot that would be! The readers would swoon, but not, of course, before spending gobs of money on the books. He wouldn't mind either. He liked Kate, she was challenging. He needed someone to challenge him, and someone to be a muse to his writing. She was both.

He decided he would give her time, he had the time to give her and he was in this for the long run. For now on a professional level, but in the future, who knows? He had seen the funny look in her eye when he had asked about her serious candidates for marriage. He was almost certain her bar was set somewhere in the vicinity of his creation Derek Storm.

* * *

How many times had she wished for one of his crime scenes to turn up in her life and mix it up? Countless times. And he had spent the better part of the last three months on bended knee praying to the gods of the written word for inspiration, anything, even just one chapter. They both got what they wanted, but exactly what did they get? What they both wished for, or a whole lot more? Just a wish granted? Just a prayer answered? Or a soul mate?

* * *

Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder; is this what people meant when they talked about fate?


	4. Schooling

This had been a good week. The first good week in her AC life. She had been peeved at just about everyone since he'd arrived on the scene, but three weeks later something was actually going right, which could only mean that something was definitely going wrong. Castle was not only fitting in with the guys and the captain, he was actually being somewhat helpful. Kate Beckett couldn't fathom what had happened to make her anger over this assignment disappear, but it had. She had reached a point where she just accepted his presence and let her resentment go. He still annoyed the crap out of her at moments, but he was learning things, and she was even enjoying having his admittedly quite observant pair of eyes and sharp mind tagging along with her. They were hitting some sort of stride in this strange professional relationship they had going, and personally, they were somewhere in the bizzaro-freindsish realm. She was picking up on his strengths, and she could see him filing all of hers, and probably any weaknesses she let through, into his memory for quick reference at any time. He always seemed to have a crazy theory that turned out to be true, his mind worked through the tough mysteries like a hot knife through butter. She'd never met a guy who did what she did that way, who obsessed himself, like she had been known to at times, with one singular thought, one problem, until he figured out what didn't fit or what was missing. She was beginning to realize that he really knew his stuff, and that if she let him, he might actually prove himself as an asset instead of a hindrance.

But he still had things to learn, and apparently she had much to learn about him. She had seen the look on his face after watching the video of Donny Kendall being shot. She saw pain, not searching or solving. Castle felt the pain that a parent felt, seeing a child die. Kate no longer saw it. She felt the sadness, but it was more hollow and dull. It was a constant in her life and she had, sadly enough, lived with it enough that she was used to it. The acuteness with which Castle felt the horror and pain had begun to fade even before she had been a cop, it had started in therapy following her mother's murder.

And the basketball thing? Despite the weirdness she felt knowing that her boss and her shadow were friends outside of the precinct, going to the Knicks game, she loved how easy it was now to talk to the Captain, unfettered access to him was hard to come by before Castle.

Plus, between Castle and her, they knew all the right things to say.

The last interview of this case had proven that to her. After she had deflected all of the kid's lecherous remarks, Castle had swooped in and conned him, playing his sociopathic world-view like Joe Torre played baseball. Without Castle, that confession would have taken significantly longer to get.

She'd have to watch that with regard to information about herself. If she let her guard down, he could probably find out anything he wanted about her, because on the subject of observing and conning, he was well schooled.

* * *

She was a drop-dead fascinating woman. No pun intended. He had fallen asleep with his laptop twice this week while trying to capture her essence in his new character, but just couldn't get it completely right. He knew a lot about her, but it just wasn't enough, she had so many facets and layers. He learned something new every single day about her, and he just couldn't get enough. Little things she did told him so much: her tone while she talked to a suspect, the way her eyes reacted to things, even when her body language contradicted them, and even her strange ability to play people-- she knew about prep school kids even though she'd been public schooled.

He'd never met anyone as subtly, gently and unmenacingly manipulative as Kate Beckett. He meant that in a good way. She knew how to get information and knew how to lead people to telling the truth without even realizing they had done so. He knew she was proud of that ability.

He'd have to watch out for that with regards to himself. If he let his guard down she could probably distract him with her beauty and get whatever she wanted from him, because on the subject of observing and manipulating, she was well schooled.


End file.
